New homes for Qld mining towns

The Queensland government has promised more than 900 new homes will be built to ease housing stress in three mining towns.

Premier
Anna Bligh
announced on Monday she would enable affordable housing at Roma, Moranbah and Blackwater to be fast-tracked by declaring urban development areas in the communities this Friday.

Ms Bligh, who made the announcement in Roma, said that while the mining boom had created jobs, it had also put pressure on communities with houses in short supply.

Many miners get around the housing problem by flying in for their shifts and flying out on days off.

The premier said a range of housing - from one-bedroom to family homes - will be built with the Urban Land Development Authority (ULDA) working with councils to make faster planning decisions and to get affordable land and homes to market quicker.

In some cases, the ULDA will also act as developer.

Ms Bligh said giving people a chance to buy or rent where they worked fostered community spirit and strengthened regional towns.

"This is an important part of the state government's regionalisation strategy to create more opportunities and a better lifestyle in all regions," she said.